Four
by xjabberwockyxpeacex
Summary: A series/collection/accumulation/cluster of drabble/one-shots starring Draco and Luna.
1. A

**So I've decided that I'm quite fond of drabbles/one-shots, because they're quick and I have a short attention span. I thought I'd try writing a series of them, just because I can.**

**The reason the story is called "Four" is because I'm going to write them with themes that belong in groups of four. For example, A (which is this one), B, C, D; 1, 2, 3, 4; Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Etc. You get the idea.**

**In the spirit of Halloween (though I assure you, none of the chapters I've written so far have anything to do with Halloween; DUDE! I should write one!), I give you all my drabble/one-shot story thingy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own _Harry Potter_. Duh.**

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**A-Aster**

Luna was horribly frightened. She couldn't understand why she was horribly frightened; all she knew was that the air was unsettling her too much, and that with every second that it lasted, it was frightened her. Horribly.

She shivered, frowning to herself as she stared into the petals of the white, violet, and pink clusters of flowers in her garden.

_Something's not right…_

That was when she saw him. She restrained from calling his name out at the top of her lungs (her fright had not decreased in the slightest), but instead, she spoke the word, "Draco," in the tiniest voice possible. She knew that he would hear even if she was whispering. He always did, whether he admitted it to her or not.

Draco stopped on the sidewalk and turned to her. He looked curiously at her pale face and blonde hair matted in dirt before barking out, "What?"

"Something's wrong," she told him sincerely, her eyes wider than saucers.

"Of course, something's wrong," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "You're gardening at night."

She blinked at him. "Come here."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you."

"Yes you do."

"Like hell, I do."

"_Draco_…"

The man slapped a hand to his face. Grudgingly, he stepped across the lawn till he was standing tall before her.

"What is it?" he asked, but unlike his normal tone of irritation, he merely sounded weary. Truth be told, having Loony Lovegood as a neighbor exhausted the living daylights out of him. Both he and Luna knew that he needed to learn how to better apply the word "No."

Luna took the clippers from beside her feet. She snipped the stem of one aster to a decent size. Then, she looked back up at him with those saucer eyes and held the flower out to him.

_Not another bloody flower_, he thought to himself. Draco observed the flower in her hand. It was tall enough for a vase but short enough to be used as a bookmark, should someone choose to use it as such. Luna expected that he would.

Sighing, he took the flower from her.

"Thank you, Draco," she said, smiling brightly, for she was feeling much less horribly frightened.

He grumbled something she couldn't hear and went back to her nighttime gardening. He, too, returned to his sanctuary, which was the wonderfully comfortable armchair in the corner of his library, right beside the table that held a vase of Luna's other flowers.

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**The "Not another bloody flower" line is kinda/sorta a reference to my other story, _Painting Flowers_. It relly doesn't matter if you've read the story before reading this one or not, I just wanted to add a slight connection for the heck of it.**

**Happy Halloween! Go crazy, get candy, and most importantly, do the Time Warp! (again, lol)**


	2. B

**Note that it was, like, one in the morning when I wrote these. I'm lucky that they even make sense at all.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own _Harry Potter_, espcially since it took me about fifty tries just to spell his last name just now.**

**Don't judge me, I've got a cold.**

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**B-Bananas**

"Are you a monkey, Draco?"

The question was so random and out of the ordinary that Draco nearly fell out of his chair. Bewildered, he openly stared at the girl who had just chosen to sit across from him in the library of Hogwarts School.

"What the _hell_ are you going on about, Loony?"

"I asked you a simple question, Draco," she said, rolling her eyes, and he nearly snorted for her finding _him_ to be completely ridiculous. "Are you or are you not a monkey?"

"I can assure you that I am most certainly _not_ a _monkey_."

_You, on the other hand…_

Luna looked a little troubled at his answer. "But I thought you might have been. You had a banana this morning."

"So do lots of other sane people unlike yourself!"

"And your father is part primate, after all," she added, just when he thought she couldn't astonish him anymore.

"My father is part _what_?"

"Primate!" she answered lightly. "Or, rather, one-third primate. Sorry."

"And where did you hear that?"

"Why, from you, of course."

Now he let out a laugh and—once again—almost doubled off of the seat. Madame Pince gave him a look that told him to shut up before she came over and whacked him in the eye with a ruler.

"Goodness, Loony, you really are nuts. When did I ever tell you—hell, when did I ever tell _anyone_—that my father was one-fourth—"

"One-third," she corrected.

"—whatever-part primate?"

"Well, just now."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I never said that."

"But you're not denying it either."

Draco stared at her, his mouth hanging there, agape. She looked positively delighted. She might have even been smug, but that may have just been the lighting of the library causing the twinkle in her eyes.

He frowned, unwilling to look at her anymore. "Go away, Loony."

"All right, then." She giggled and got to her feet. "Go bananas, Draco."

Her ringing laughter echoed through his ears even after she left the library. Yes, that had to have been the weirdest conversation he'd ever had with anyone, but one thing was for sure: He would never be able to look at his father the same way again.


	3. C

**As I've already written the next few of these, I was going to space each chapter out (not too much, but just a tad), but at the moment, I'm sick and I can barely speak and I'm bored, so I'm defying myself and posting this now. Also, this is my _favorite_ chapter out of all of what I've written so far, so getting the chance to read it again makes my ailing heart just a little better. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. Excuse me while I go lie down and cough myself into a nap.**

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**C-Crazy**

"You're crazy."

Draco Malfoy watched Luna Lovegood, hopping with the frogs around the pond, trying her hardest to catch one with her bare hands.

"You'll never catch one," he told her, smirking at her jumpy form. She froze mid-hop to turn a blank gaze on him, something that always continued to make him squirm to his very being.

"Is that negativity I'm detecting?" she asked rhetorically, tilting her head to the side. "Because you know how I feel about negativity."

"That it only exists in one place, and that place is my soul?"

She sighed, then suddenly tried to snatch a frog between her fingers. When that didn't work, she turned back to him. "That it is a characteristic I must take advantage of to prove people wrong."

"You were never so stubborn in school, my dear," he said coolly. "What happened to change that?"

"I met you."

"Ah."

"Yes. 'Ah.' Now excuse me." As the frogs all hopped along the pond and its surrounding areas, Luna hopped after them, herding them all in no particular direction. They were all very confused.

Draco allowed himself a small smile and returned to the book in his lap. He was on the fifth chapter at the moment, but by the time he heard a giant splash about a half hour later, he was on the eleventh.

He looked up from his book to find Luna, soaking wet, but standing over him with a frog in her small grasp. She was beaming. The frog was not.

"Now am I so crazy?" she asked him breathlessly.

"Yes, but you're also quite impressive."

She laughed. "That's okay, then. And anyway, you're crazy too."

He had no doubt about this whatsoever.


	4. D

**Something similar to Chapter 2. Warning: Randomness ensues! But then again, this is a story with Luna, so that isn't so surprising.**

**Much love to all my reviewers and favoriters and all people-ers that like this story! You win... SPRINKLES! WOOOOO-HOOOOO!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. Stop this madness of thinking that I do! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH *twitchy and paranoid, runs into brick wall and falls unconscious***

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**D-Dracula**

"Are you Dracula, Draco?"

Draco whirled on her so abruptly that she ran into him. "_Stop asking me if I'm something else, woman!_"

Luna stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at him innocently. He swore under his breath.

"Why would you think that I'm Dracula?" he inquired, on the edge of total psychosis. "Is it because I'm pale or because you've come up with another crazy theory that my father is one-seventh vampire or something of the sort? _Hmm_? Is it because I don't quite fancy garlic, or because whenever it's sunny out, I'd rather be indoors where I can be alone _for once_? Please, Luna, tell me what on earth I'm doing to make you think these absolutely mental things so then later I can stop doing them and you can let me get on with my life without having to ask me if I'm something bloody else!"

Luna watched him pant out short, angry breaths until his heart rate slowed down. Then she answered him.

"Actually, I was wondering because the name 'Dracula' kind of sounds like 'Draco,' but only in the first four letters. I wondered if maybe Draco was your nickname so people didn't call you Dracula all the time." She shrugged, rolling back and forth on her heels and looking around the mostly empty corridor. "Thanks for all that information, though."

Draco did not follow her with his eyes as she turned and skipped away to a hum only she knew. He did not go back to the common room to tell his friends of this ridiculous situation, and he especially did not run out into the Forbidden Forest to scream his heart out until all of the frustrations he'd just acquired would leave his system. He just stood in the middle of the hallway, dumbfounded beyond all belief that that girl had just… well, he wasn't quite sure what she'd done, but it was something, and it left him frozen in the corridor in a daze.

After a few minutes, he realized, _Did I call her Luna?_

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**Yes, Draco. Yes you did.**_  
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	5. One

**And we arrive at a new group of four! This time, it's with numbers! OoOoOoOoOoOo, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, because if I did, you can be sure that I would have cast Darren Criss as the person in Hogwarts who is just totally awesome and walks around the castle in his totally awesomeness.**

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Their first dance was at the wedding of Harry and Ginny Potter. Draco was at the bar, drowning himself in scotch and surveying the crowd that was so much merrier than he was. Luna was easy to spot: she wore a sundress in the brightest color yellow Draco had ever seen. Blaise, who'd Draco dragged along for support during this god-awfully awkward event (for him, at least. Blaise was being a _fantastic_ friend by chatting up three women and visiting him only every hour or so. See if Draco ever used him as his date again.), walked up behind him, trying to scare him, but Draco was too busy staring at Luna and being semi-drunk to notice. Blaise took note of Draco's wandering eye.

"Lovegood? That's an interesting pick," he said, sitting himself down at the seat beside Draco's. Draco scowled and turned away, resting his eyes on the happy couple dancing. It made him depressed.

"I dare you to go dance with her," Blaise said, smirking.

Draco scoffed. "You _dare_ me? Are you eight?"

"Just do it, before you end up as the first one to pass out from too much booze. I'm sparing you humiliation."

"Cheers," Draco sneered, but regardless of the stupidity of the situation, Draco stood and walked up to Luna, asking her to dance in a strange, coy, un-Malfoy sort of way. She agreed brightly, too bright for Draco's liking, and they moved onto the dance floor. She timidly placed her right hand in his left and her left hand on his shoulder. His hand went to her waist. He felt a little odd, holding onto something so small, as if he was afraid he might break her.

As if sensing his hesitance, she swayed along with the music just a little closer to him. Maybe she was aware of it or maybe she wasn't, but she settled near him, calming his instincts of running back to the bar out of fear.

"Your friend is laughing at us," Luna said softly.

Draco glanced up. Blaise was indeed in a fit of snorts.

"Let him laugh," Draco murmured, resting his chin on Luna's head with satisfaction.


	6. Two

**I don't really have mant comments on this chapter other than the fact that it's here, and I'm there, wherever "there" may be (I don't even know myself) and I'm posting it and that I seriously wish I had some pumpkin pie with me. But other than that... *shrugs***

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_-BUT DUDE I SAW THE DEATHLY HALLOWS AND IT WAS AWESOME!**

**Never mind about not having any comments, cuz I just thought of one. ^^ But it was an epic movie, and I'm dying from part two months away from release. You win this round, Warner Brothers! You and your mysterious ways of making us beg for more!**

**Anywho.**

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Two

"I bought these for you."

Luna peered over the latest edition of the Quibbler. On the table in front of her was a small, black, rectangular case. Draco sat in the adjacent armchair, staring at his shoes.

"What is it?" she asked, not with suspicion, but with sincere curiosity. Her eyes never left the case.

"Well, you'd have to open it and find out," said Draco.

"But what if it's a baby dragon in a particular fit of anger? My hand could burn off."

"Luna, you'd love it even if that _did_ happen."

The two locked eyes, smirking the tiniest of smirks at each other. Luna reached over to the case and lifted the lid off. Inside laid two quills, each one bright and colorful and with feathers sticking out and little pieces of ribbon wrapped around it. Luna gazed at them in awe, and then gazed at Draco in even more awe, because they'd seen these quills in a shop last weekend and while Luna had expressed great interest in them, Draco had claimed that he would never be seen getting something so loud and… fuzzy

"You didn't have to do this," she said, although she was very glad that he did do this. Very glad indeed.

He shrugged, as if his gesture of love toward her meant positively nothing, when in fact, it meant the opposite. "I wanted to. The idea of someone else having those seemed wrong. I just wanted to give you something."

Luna bit her lip, picking up a quill and twirling it in her fingers. She stuck it behind her ear and got up from the sofa in their library, slowly approaching Draco to take a seat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I have nothing to give you, though."

"You've already given me everything," he whispered, placing a trail of tender kisses down her collarbone. "What more could I ask for?"


	7. Three

**I got a pumpkin pie yesterday. Therefore, I am a happy camper. Also, went to see _Tangled_, and for those of you who may be on the fence about it, I HIGHLY recommend seeing it. It was _really_ good :)**

**This chapter is a particularly random one, mostly because of the end. Even I was one to step back when I finished and think, "Where did THAT come from?" But I live for randomness, and I expect Luna does too, so I kept it for both our sakes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, but I do own a pie of the pumpkin likeness.**

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Three

"Three is the magic number, you know."

Draco resisted the urge to slam his head against the table, half because it would hurt very much, and half because Madame Pince would most likely kill him if he disrupted the library. _Why does Loony always insist on sitting at _my_ table?_

"Bugger off, Lovegood," he growled, but she didn't hear him. Or was ignoring him. Perhaps both.

"Don't you agree that three is a magical number, Draco?"

"_No._"

"There are three Unforgivable Curses. There are only three ingredients in the potion for decreasing warts." She tapped her chin thoughtfully, glancing at him through the corner of her large eyes. "You seem to have only three nerves per day for people dance on."

"It may be less than that," Draco snorted. "There's also that pub, The Three Broomsticks."

Luna grinned. "Now you're getting the hang of it!"

Draco's face fell and turned a paler color than normal. "Please, go away, you nutcase."

Luna hopped up. "As you wish, but only because you were polite about it." She disappeared into the aisles of books that buried her tiny form with their extensive knowledge. She was gone within seconds.

Draco looked at his half-written Charms essay, unable to think about his homework at all for the time being.

_Luna has three names: her first, her surname, and Loony._

It was then that Draco noticed something on the corner of his paper. It was almost tiny, but once he leaned in close enough, Draco could make out a distinct pencil-drawn flower with only three petals on it.

_When did Lovegood draw that and how did I not notice her do it?_


	8. Four

**I really don't have time to say anything random and pointless right now, since I'm supposed to be leaving for a three-hour drive to a place far beyond a rainbow. Or something of the sorts.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, even as I race out the door.**

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Four

Luna watched as Draco slept in his bed. He looked so weak and he was visibly shaking, but he still looked quite lovely, in her opinion. She brushed a damp cloth over his forehead in the deep hopes that it would cool his sky-rocketing fever.

The icy water coming in contact with his skin caused him to wake up abruptly . Because of his Quidditch reflexes, he gripped her wrist as soon as he woke. His usual reflex of being defensive and paranoid made him look a bit on edge, even when he and Luna met each other's gaze and intensely stared the other person down for a few seconds. Draco eased and let go of her wrist once he realized that he was in no danger. Luna thought him to be silly.

"You're going to get sick," he rasped out, wincing as he swallowed. Luna shrugged and continued to stroke his face with the rag.

"You cough four times," she murmured, evading his concern.

"What has that got to do with _anything_?" he asked. Coincidentally, this threw him into a coughing fit, in which he coughed exactly four times.

Luna smiled, pleased with herself, and Draco rolled his eyes, returning to his nap, content with knowing that his ill health would be in safe hands.


	9. Spring

**Dude! I haven't updated since last year!**

**Seriously, though, sorry. I got swamped with the holidays and I recently got into _Hetalia_, and I also have this thing where I procrastinate... we all have our struggles. But, to celebrate 2011, I bring you tidings of Draco/Luna lurve. What better way to cheer for the new year?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_; didn't in 2010, don't in 2011.**

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**Spring**

The side of Draco that was sickened by generally everything despised the rest of him for letting Luna Lovegood drag him around the edge of the forest. They were behind the Lovegood house, where a thick patch of trees separated them from many of the other houses in Ottery St. Catchpole. Draco glanced at Luna ahead of him, not dancing or skipping or twirling magically around the outskirts of the forest, but merely walking ordinarily with her blank eyes on her bare feet. Regardless of the morbid matter of her father's funeral, she still had to rid herself of her shoes.

Draco watched her sadly, remembered why he allowed himself to be led around the forest by her, and told the generally sickened part of himself to shut the hell up.

He truly didn't know why Luna had asked him to come to the funeral of Xenophelius Lovegood. He didn't even know why he had agreed to come. They were only neighbors, after all. Nothing more than that. That was what he told himself. But looking over at Luna now and recalling the broken look on her face when she'd asked—she was so upset, but she couldn't turn away from that mask of peace and serenity she always wore; he was all too familiar with how hard it was to keep up with the wall he built around himself—there had been no way he would have denied her.

So he came to the funeral. Potter and his gang were there to give their condolences, but it was only Draco's side that Luna consistently stayed at. It was his shoulder she cried on, even though she was still too well-masked to actually start bawling. It was he who she took by the arm and led to the forest to stroll along the trees in silence.

Draco picked up his pace and fell into step with Luna. There was a glimmer of wet streaks down her face, and more tears were still coming.

"Hey, Luna," Draco spoke, a smirk spreading on his face, hoping that it would be contagious, "is that a Nargle over there?"

She made an agitated noise that was crossed between a grunt and a sigh. "That's a bird, Draco."

"It looks like a Nargle."

"Well, it isn't, and anyway, I thought you didn't _believe_ in Nargles," she snapped, scowling a scowl that may have even beat out Draco's famous one. "I'm not even sure if I believe in them anymore."

Draco couldn't believe his ears. It didn't makes sense for Luna not to believe in Nargles… then again, what Draco did next didn't make sense to him either.

Quickly, as if the world would fall if he didn't, he reached out and took her hand in his and held onto it for dear life. They stopped walking as Luna stared at their entwined fingers.

"I'll believe in them if you do," Draco told her sincerely. They met each other's gaze for a good minute and a half before Luna wordlessly gave a small nod. She squeezed his hand, and they went back to walking along the forest path in silence.


	10. Summer

**I have no comment. Instead, I have a smiley-face:**

**:D**

**I know that there's no point to Mr. Smiley. (Sorry, Mr. Smiley; we still love you!) I'm just tired. I have to stop staying up till 3 AM.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, and neither does Mr. Smiley.**

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Summer

The ocean was exactly what she needed. Her recovery after her father's death had lasted longer than Draco thought it would, but—although it was understandable—he couldn't take seeing her dejected face anymore. As much as the death of Xenophilius was hurting her, her pain was killing him.

He didn't know why.

Last winter, she had invited herself for Christmas over at his house. As she was decorating the Christmas tree while he sat in a chair, dropping pointless hints of how he really _didn't_ want her there (Luna disregarded this, because she knew he was lying even if he didn't know it himself), she mentioned that she hadn't been to the beach since before her mother died, and that it had been one of the best moments of her life, that the wind in her hair and the smell of the ocean was the most peaceful setting she'd ever been to.

And so, here they were, standing on a beach, watching the waves crash spectacularly in front of them. Draco, having had few experiences at the beach with his family in the past, wore a casual black suit. Luna wore a skirt, leggings, a long-sleeved shirt, and a beret, all in an extremely bright blue color. This was the brightest color she had worn since the spring. Still, no shoes. To the other beach-goers, Draco and Luna looked like quite the odd pair to come to the ocean during a summer afternoon.

"It's lovely," Luna sighed, breathing in the salty air. "I remember when my mother—"

"Took you here, yeah, you've told me," Draco finished for her. "I'd like to make it known that if you have any intention to jump into the ocean, I won't be following you."

She smirked. "Don't worry; I'm not in the mood for swimming. Besides, the ocean's filled with Sharlocks."

"And a Sharlock would be…?"

"It's kind of like a dolphin, but they have razors on their sides to keep away predators, and they feast on human toes. Also, they're purple and can fly, but only at night."

Draco hesitated from denying the existence of these creatures. "They sound… friendly."

"They aren't." She blinked at him, almost like he was an idiot.

He sneered, "I was being _sarcastic_."

"Oh." Luna pursed her lips and glanced down in between them. "When are you going to stop holding my hand all the time? You've been at it since…" The rest of her sentence hung in the air and she quickly turned back to the ocean view.

Draco shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Whenever you want me to, I suppose." He swallowed. "_Do_ you want me to stop?"

"No," she responded automatically.

"Then I won't."

"Good."

"Good."

They watched as the fin of a dolphin popped up out of the water. Draco wondered if it was a Sharlock.

"Thank you for taking me here." Luna turned to him, smiling genuinely. It was the first smile she'd expressed since before the funeral, and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Anytime, Lovegood." He squeezed her hand as they looked back at the scene of another potential Sharlock fin appearing out of the glistening water.


	11. Fall

**I love cooking dinner for people. It makes me feel like a pro chef. I'm pretty sure, though, that Julia Child never cooked and tried to hurry and post story chapters on FanFiction at the same time. I'm sure that won't be problematic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, but I do own the spaghetti that's cooking in the kitchen. I should probably go check on that now.**

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**Fall**

"Ahem."

Draco glanced up from his breakfast and into the face of Luna Lovegood, standing over his solitary spot at the Slytherin table with a clipboard and pen in her hands. She also wore a multicolored striped hat made out of an oversized sock.

"What do you want?" he asked, unable to take his eyes off the thing on her head.

"I'm taking a poll," she answered. "As it is October, I was interested in the people's opinion: fall or autumn?"

"'Fall or autumn'?" he repeated stupidly.

"Yes, which do you prefer?"

In his head, he was in a battle. He could totally ignore her or insult her, but he was all too aware of the fact that just brushing her off was counter-productive in the quest to make her go away. He decided that the smartest choice was to go along with whatever delusions she was going to present to him.

"Aren't they the same thing?" he asked, for although he was acting mostly agreeable toward her, that didn't mean he wasn't going to be _entirely_ agreeable. That would mean he was as nutty as she was.

Luna pondered this. "… Yes, but some people call it one thing and some call it the other. I'm just interested in the school's choice on the matter."

Like Luna had a moment ago, Draco pondered the situation as well. He realized that she could be doing a lot worse than merely taking a poll, regardless of how pointless it was. If it weren't for the choice of headgear, he figured that this could be a relatively normal moment in time for her.

"Fall," he muttered, returning to the pancakes on his plate.

Luna quickly scribbled down his answer. "Hmm, very interesting, indeed. I personally prefer 'autumn.'"

"Fantastic for you. Now may I eat breakfast in peace?"

She smiled at him, pleased that she had gotten a decent answer out of the boy a year older than her. "You may. Thank you, Draco." She turned and flitted away, and her sock-hat bounced behind her. Draco shook his head at her, subconsciously locking away the information that Loony Lovegood liked "autumn" to "fall."

What Draco wasn't aware of was that Luna lied about taking a poll for the entire school, and that she failed to mention that on her clipboard was the latest copy of _Witch Weekly_, with the magazine turned the page that had a compatibility test. She would later discover that, despite first impressions and their conflict between Fall and Autumn, she and Draco Malfoy were quite compatible with each other. In fact, the two of them were much more compatible than she was compared to the other boys she'd tested so far.


	12. Winter

**I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing right now, honestly. Probably something more productive, but I haven't updated in a while. So yeah. This is what I'm doing right now.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, because if I did, I would most likely have a better understanding of what I should be doing at the moment. ;)**

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**Winter**

Draco had always considered himself good at snowball fights, mainly because his hair was so white and he was so pale that part of him could blend with the snow, camouflaging him from his attackers, Crabbe and Goyle.

However, when Luna had bet him a fiver that she could beat him in such a frosty battle, he had not counted on her being such a formidable opponent.

They were tied, and this last round would define their fate. She was faster and so much more rogue than he would have ever expected from Loony Lovegood. He couldn't believe how pathetic he was as he hid behind a tree, panting, keeping a sharp ear out for any sudden movements. He gripped the orb of ice in his hand as he heard a twig snap, and he shot up from his war bunker, hurling the snow in the direction of the cracking sound, certain that he'd beaten Lovegood and won five pounds.

The snowball hit a deer. The deer ran off.

Draco frowned.

_Where could she—?_

Something cold slammed into the back of his head. He groaned loudly.

"I won, Draco!" Luna called out behind him. He could tell how thrilled she was at his expense because she was laughing like a gleeful maniac.

Abruptly, Draco was taken out of his depressing thoughts concerning his defeat when something jumped by him, taking hold of his arm. Luna was covered in snow, her rosy cheeks bright beside her even brighter smile. She was an angel in flaky frost, a champion of the biggest battle known to man.

Out of nowhere, Draco didn't even care that he'd just lost five quid.


	13. Halloween

**I should really be getting to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow, and with the time change, mornings have been evil. I should not be posting this and watching _Merlin_ bloopers. I should be sleeping.**

**Ha.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. Shocker.**

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**Halloweeen**

"Trick-or-treat!"

Draco paused in his study, unsure if he was hearing correctly. The voice outside his home repeated again, and this time, she added in the constant ringing of the doorbell. Draco groaned, internally hitting himself for not removing the doorbell sooner.

Grudgingly, he trudged through the house and to his front door, which he threw open, ready to fire insults that would send the daring trick-or-treater home, disheartened.

His insults died as he took in Luna Lovegood, the very trick-or-treater herself, and her Halloween costume.

The closest thing he could compare her to was a ladybug, if a ladybug were bright yellow with rainbow spots, bore a curly straw on its head, had wings made of macaroni glued to pieces of cardboard, and had its face died purple.

Living next to Luna Lovegood, he quickly realized in his lapse of utter speechlessness, was turning out to be a rather exhausting real estate choice.

"Well?" she said, twirling around in—oh, yes, a pink tutu. How _could_ he have _possibly_ missed that?

"I don't even want to know what made-up creature you're sporting," he sighed, gripping the doorframe. "Is that a tail?"

Indeed, there was a fuzzy, red-and-gold tail attached to the back of her tutu. Draco wasn't sure if his eyes could take anymore.

"You're supposed to give me candy now, Draco," she said, and he returned his gaze back to her half-purple face.

He smirked. "A bit impatient, are we?"

"Not at all, I'm just informing you how Halloween protocol works."

"Well, that's a shame, because I haven't got any candy."

She tilted her head. "You don't celebrate Halloween?"

He hesitated. "Don't pull me into this."

"Because I'd be happy to have a trick-or-treating sidekick tonight," she said, smiling, completely disregarding him.

"I said, don't pull me into this!"

"But you'd need a costume." Luna frowned to herself. Her brow furrowed and her nose crinkled, and Draco tried not to stare, even amongst the ridiculousness of her appearance. "I'm afraid I don't have time to make another costume that'd match mine."

"Tragic, but I'll live." He moved to close the door, but because she'd had him slam a door in her face many a time before, she was quick to position her foot to keep him from locking her out. Her shoes, he noticed, were slippers with bells on the front of each foot.

"Wait! Here, wear this." She removed the headband with the curly straw from around her head and reached up, placing it atop his own head like a crown. He cringed, but she smiled at her work. "There! Now you're a king."

"I think I'm more annoyed than anything."

"Come on!" Luna grabbed him by the hand, dragging him out of the house, despite his loud protests, which were only drowned out by the laughter and shrieks of the sugar-filled children around them.

His first house as a trick-or-treater did not start well, as the woman there wanted him to explain his costume's back-story, forcing him to design an elaborate past for the curly straw on his head, one involving knights and kingdoms and being captured by a fairy-princess-ladybug-crackhead. He was about to go into a rage when she finally gave him a chocolate bar, and that was when he begun warming up to Halloween.

At the end of the night, he and Luna sat on a bench near the bus stop, munching on some of the candy that they'd received. Draco took notice of the pensive look on Luna's face as she stared into a green gummy.

"Anything wrong?" he asked. He leaned back against the bench, chocolate in one hand and Luna's fairy wings—which had started to weigh her down toward the end of their escapades—in the other.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's just…" She bit her lip, briefly meeting his eyes. "I had a really nice time tonight."

And then, she did something he'd never dreamed of. (This was half of a lie, as he had dreamed of her doing this something. The only thing was, he never dreamed of her doing it dressed like this.)

She leaned over, brushing her lips against his cheek, giving him a kiss so tender, he could have mistaken her kiss for a ghost's. He only sat there, frozen except for the chocolate in his hand that he failed to notice was slightly shaking. When she pulled back, she saw that he was so pale that _he_ might have been the ghost.

Their eyes met—hers, blinking and bright; his, blinking and wide. When he didn't say anything, a slow blush crept up on the side of Luna's face that wasn't painted.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I mean, I'm not expecting you to do anything in return. I just wanted to say thanks. So… thanks." Her stammering was so unlike Luna, it almost made Draco chuckle, but only almost because he wasn't yet able to function properly.

_Since when did he get this stunned over girls?_

Then he blinked again. _Perhaps it's only one girl._

Luna tentatively leaned back against Draco, squirming into his form until her head was settled on his shoulder. Her hair smelled of apples.

_Oh, Merlin, what's happening to me?_

Another second passed, and he was finally out of his shock. He glanced down at Luna. She seemed comfortable, yet uncomfortable, like she wasn't sure if she should be doing any of the things she was doing right now, a sight that was both rare and wrong at the same time. Luna was supposed to be out of place, yes, but she wasn't supposed to feel it, especially not with him.

So, as carefully as she had been, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to get better situated. He felt her relax in his arms, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. She breathed gently against his skin and it sent chills throughout his entire body.

Right then, he didn't like the chocolate nearly as much as he liked her being so close to him.

The king and the fairy-princess-ladybug fell asleep on the bench that Halloween night, their candy forgotten until morning.


	14. Thanksgiving

**I know... I'm a bad updater person... things have been as crazy as Luna Lovegood's nickname. Many battles have broken out in my brain. There's bloodshed, weaponry, people beating each other with sticks, grenades; the works. One man keeps running around, screaming, "MY LEG!" like in _Spongebob Squarepants_. ****It's a miracle that my head hasn't exploded.**

**But hey, at least my love for Draco/Luna hasn't decreased any whatsoever.**

**ALSO, I recently watched Team Starkid's newest production, _Starship_. I swear, if I wasn't in love with them before, I totally am now. But I was in love with them before, so my love has only increased.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Me? Owning _Harry Potter_? HA!**

* * *

**Thanksgiving**

"Happy Thanksgiving, Draco!" Luna threw her arms around her neighbor's stiff form, oblivious to the fact that he was not a hugger. She pulled him inside by the arm and brought him to the sofa in the sitting room to do exactly what the room was designed for. She poured Draco a glass of wine, which he gladly accepted.

"I'm so glad you could make it," she called from the hallway she'd just entered, as she had gone to put the finishing Luna-touches on their meal. "I've been cooking all day. I almost wasn't sure if you'd come."

"Neither was I," he scoffed. It was true, he hadn't had any intention on arriving for the American holiday, and quite frankly, he didn't have a clue to why he was actually sitting there right then, waiting to gorge himself on a cornucopia of food until he felt as though he might literally die. To be frank, lately, he didn't really have a clue why he did a lot of things with Luna. He just did them.

Draco sighed to himself, recalling the moment Luna had asked him to a Thanksgiving meal.

_They were strolling through the park, mostly in silence, because he liked silence whilst enjoying the scenery and she knew and respected that. That was the main reason they allowed each other to take strolls like this with the other person, because they both respected one another's boundaries and were completely and totally fine with it._

_And then Luna spoke up, ending the silence._

"_I want to have Thanksgiving."_

_Draco narrowed his eyes at her, tilting his head slightly. "Last time I checked, we didn't celebrate that."_

_She shrugged. "Does it matter, really? I just want to have it."_

"_Have what? The food or the part where we reminisce on how some of the English left our country in favor of starting a new one?"_

"_I was thinking mostly about the part where we think about what we're thankful for." She paused. "And the food, too." She looked up at him curiously. "Would you come?"_

"_Why can't you ask Potter or Granger or the Weasleys? Why does it always have to be me?"_

_She shrugged yet again, but this time, the corner of her mouth was twitching upwards. "For one thing, they're all busy around Thanksgiving, and as for your other question, I suppose I just like having you around."_

_That was how she roped him into things, he realized. It was either a brilliant scheme on her part or a masterful strategy wrapped in total obliviousness._

"_I'll think about it," he replied stubbornly._

_She nodded, and they both returned to their much-enjoyed peace._

Luna called him for dinner, and he brought his glass into the dining room. When he arrived, the table was gone, and in its place was a blanket on the floor, adorned with wonderful food that exploded fantastically into his senses, and Luna, sitting patiently, and at the same time, not patiently at all.

"Ready to eat?" she asked, blinking at him quite anxiously.

He nodded and sat down across from her. As he piled multitudes of food on his plate—and Merlin's socks, he couldn't do it fast enough—Luna inquired, "What are you thankful for, Draco?"

"Right now? The turkey. Looks incredible."

She blushed, looking down at her plate so she didn't have to look at him. He watched her take heaping helpings of mashed potatoes, turkey, corn, stuffing, and green bean casserole, and mix it all together until it was a jumble of nearly everything spread before them.

"What about you?" he asked in return, taking a bite of whatever his fork could reach first.

"Right now?" She thought about it for a few seconds. "Right now, I'm thankful for Thanksgiving."

"And why is that?"

"Because it means I get to watch you eat like a savage wolf instead of seeing you act like a prude like normal."

He froze mid-chew. She was having a difficult time containing her giggles. He knew how to fix that.

Draco scooped up a handful of mashed potatoes and threw them into her face, causing her to freeze just like she'd done to him. But she recovered quickly and broke out into an even more uncontrollable fit of laughter. However, she still had the strength to flick a spoonful of sweet potatoes into his hair.

Draco almost felt guilty for wasting a good deal of the admittedly remarkable feast Luna had worked so hard to prepare, but neither of them cared too much as they sent turkey and corn at each other (at Luna) or poured gravy on the other person's head (on Draco's) or covered one another in all the different kinds of potatoes and stuffing from head to toe (both).

They couldn't wait for next year's Thanksgiving.


	15. Christmas

**It's been about an exact month since I last updated! I find that funny, for some reason. More than likely because it's two in the morning and everything is just plain hilarious at 2 AM.**

**I'm going to get better at updating, eventually. I have some stuff that really needs my attention, but that's coming together, and once I'm finished, I'll be updating like a crazy person. Well, more of a crazy person than I already am.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. And I'm running out of witty things to add.**

* * *

**Christmas**

Her presence was an infestation, yet there was no exterminator to call to remove her from his home, so he ended up stuck with her on Christmas Eve against his wishes.

"Don't you just love Christmas, Draco?" she asked as she decorated the Christmas tree in his living room, going about the day even happier than she normally was. Her grin was so large that Draco briefly wondered if her face was in danger of breaking.

"Yeah, I do love it. _Alone_." In contrast to her cone of impenetrable giddiness, Draco sat in his chair, slumped, with a glass of champagne in his hand, using all of his brain power to send a message into her mind that read simply: _Get out._

She did not get this message. She did, however, notice his negative attitude. "Oh, Draco, hasn't there ever been a time when you were completely and totally happy?" She hung a glittering glass ball off of one of the tree's branches.

Draco pondered this for a moment. He knew very well when he was at his happiest (or as happy as he'd ever get). His best moments were when he got to see her smile, when he got to make her laugh or was able to watch her dance in the rain, and maybe, just maybe, even get the chance to be her rain-waltzing partner. He was happy when he stared at the vase of her flowers, because those were flowers that she had picked for _him_ and _him_ alone. When she entered his house, even unannounced (and she usually did), and flashed him a beaming smile, that smile made his gloomy house light up like a light. Even now, he was happy that she was here, although he refused to act like it made his heart grow three sizes bigger—and it did, which he knew, because it was swelling inside of his chest.

"No memory that I can recall," he sighed, taking another, large gulp of champagne. "Although, if I did have one, it would probably be a memory involving complete and total solitude. I miss those days…"

She did not appear to notice the comment and placed a candy cane on its destined branch. "I can think of my best memory. Would you like to hear it?"

"I don't suppose I have a choice."

"I was eight. My mother took me to the beach. I remember splashing around in the water with her and twirling about and dancing with her. The wind and the air and the smell and the world around me, at that moment, it all made everything seem at peace. I was free." She finished wistfully, closing her eyes to relive everything she'd just spoken of. Draco felt a little guilty for being there, watching her, because the matter seemed awfully private.

"That's a good memory," he said truthfully. He often remembered asking himself what it would be like to be free during the days of war. Even now, he wasn't sure if he was totally free, but anything was better than the hell he'd been through back then.

"Do you like the tree?" Luna had opened her eyes again, now using them to look at him hopefully.

His own eyes flickered to the Christmas tree. Did he really like the blinking, multi-colored lights that gave him a headache, or the tinsel that had the words "Read _The Quibbler!_" on it (although, they _were_ in silver and green colors). Did he fancy the ornaments that were half-handmade by Luna herself, and most of which were designed to look like all of the creatures she believed in? Did he like how the star on top of the tree was actually another Christmas tree, only miniature and plastic and as brightly decorated as the real-life tree was?

"It looks incredible, Lovegood," he replied, watching as her eyes lit up like the blinking lights. Now more pleased with the holiday than before, she returned to finishing her masterpiece with tinsel while Draco downed the rest of his glass. He knew he would need it.


	16. New Year's

**I _always_ choose the worst times to update, usually whenever I'm needed elsewhere. _Always_.**

**Oh well, I find this more important, anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_, but I do own a wand. Two, actually. And a sonic screwdriver, but that's entirely unrelated, at least if we've forgotten about Ten as Barty Crouch Jr.**

* * *

**New Year's**

For some reason, Draco wasn't drunk. He didn't know why he wasn't drunk—it was New Year's Eve, five minutes till the brand new year, and getting drunk was a common theme. Everyone else at his parent's New Year's Ball was either tipsy or completely wasted, but not Draco.

This thing… sobriety… he was not a fan of it.

"Four minutes, everyone!" giggled his mother from somewhere in the room. Her voice was shrill enough to be heard amongst the obnoxious laughter that half the people in the ballroom were emitting. Draco was disgusted by them, and at the same time, quite envious.

Just then, Draco was nearly thrown off his feet as a hand yanked on the collar of his shirt, throwing him backwards and into the grip of one of his father's coworkers, Blake Coleman. Mr. Coleman was a short man who Draco always thought resembled a walrus, mostly because of his abnormally large handlebar mustache. Draco tried to shy away from it, but the man was squeezing him far too closely for comfort. The side of Draco's face was being tickled by the hairy beast.

"Mr. Coleman! Er, are you having fun?"

"Fun?" Mr. Coleman snorted in Draco's ear, then took a gulp of whatever drink he had that was certainly not lemonade. "Why, this is the best fun I've had all year!"

And that was when it happened.

The man _kissed_ him on the cheek. Wet and sloppily. Scratching Draco's nose with the mustache.

If there was any moment where Draco wished to be mind-numbingly drunk, it was now.

Using all the strength that he had, Draco pushed Mr. Coleman away, letting out a strangled cry and wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. Mr. Coleman didn't even notice Draco's horrified reaction and trotted on his merry way through the crowd.

"Draco!"

The voice was the only thing that seemed to calm his screaming mind. Luna stood behind him, wearing a green dress with a rainbow shawl. Even _she_ had a glass of champagne in her hand.

"Thank Merlin, someone… well, I suppose 'sane' isn't the appropriate word." Draco grabbed her by the arm and led her in the opposite way of Mr. Coleman. Distance was a wonderful thing.

"By the way, Draco, I can't believe you never told me," Luna said as Draco spun her into an embrace on the dance floor.

"Told you what?" He pulled her closer. She placed her head into the crook of his neck. Ever since Halloween, touches like these were becoming more and more frequent.

"That you fancied people with large mustaches."

They stopped swaying to the music. Draco looked down at her with a stony glare. Luna merely giggled.

Their dancing was cut short, as the music had stopped. His mother took center stage, his father at her side, both radiating with delight from the party that was going so well, as well as from all of the alcohol they'd consumed. They both giggled at something that was only funny to them.

"Okay, everyone! It's nearly time!" his mother announced. "Grab your loved ones and get ready! We've got twenty seconds on the clock!"

"Did you have a good year, Draco?" Luna asked over the bustle of people frantically searching for those they wanted to spend their last seconds in the old year with. In the frenzy, Draco pulled Luna closer to him. She didn't complain.

Draco was taken aback by her question. "Did I…?"

"—have a good year?" she finished for him. "I hope you did. I know _I_ did."

"Did you?"

She nodded. "You made it all the better."

Luna Lovegood was, he realized, too good for her own good—a persistent, bright spec in his life that he knew he'd never be able to get rid of. She had wedged her way more into his life than just as fellow classmates. He'd let her.

The whole ballroom rang, "Six!"

She was ridiculous and beyond bizarre and everything that he wasn't, but he considered that a good thing, since what he was wasn't so fantastic—yet that was something she saw through. Not only did she force her way into his world, but she'd invited him into hers. He hadn't even realized it until just then.

"Five!"

He had made her year. And she had made his.

"Four!"

He grinned for the last time that year.

"Three!"

"I believe I'm going to kiss you, Luna Lovegood," he told her, leaning down.

"Two!"

"If you must," she sighed, smiling serenely.

"One!"

Their lips met.

"Happy new year!"

Indeed, it was.


	17. Earth

**The amount of times I have said to myself in the past week or so, "I really need to update my story!" has been getting ridiculous, so I thought I'd get off my butt and actually follow through with the task.**

**I also would just like to add a big thank you to all of the followers and reviewers of this story! You are all fantastic and amazingly amazing and you never cease to warm my heart. Just thought I'd mention my appreciation.**

**This next set of four involves elements/nature/etc. And on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned _Harry Potter_... eh, I'd probably be able to come up with something clever to say here.**

* * *

**Earth**

"Aren't the stars beautiful?" Luna rolled around in the grass, gazing up at the tiny lights in the sky. If she held her pointer finger and her thumb close enough together, it looked as if she had caught one. She laughed at the thought.

"You're going to get dirt all over you if you keep playing around like that," Draco scolded her mildly. He sat beside her, picking at a blade of grass. The wind took the pieces away when he let go of them. He did not laugh.

She looped around to meet his eyes. "Well, your face will freeze if you insist on frowning like that."

Draco shook his head, smirking, for even though she _did_ have the ability to make sarcastic remarks, just hearing them in her calm voice, paired with that ever-so-dreamy facial expression, made her far less intimidating than she attempted to be.

"You're named after the stars, aren't you?" she asked, laying on her stomach, settling her chin in her palms and wiggling her feet in the air. "The constellation 'Draco'?"

He nodded. "That would be correct."

"And I'm named after the moon. How utterly fitting." Her right pointer finger traveled down his forearm, stopping to draw circles in the palm of his hand. "You know, the stars really _are_ quite lovely."

Draco captured her hand in the midst of its motions. He situated himself till he was lying down on the hill beside her, and she scooted closer to him, resting her head on his chest, listening to the faint beating of the stars' heart.

He brought her wrist to his lips. "The moon is exceptionally gorgeous as well."

"The moon thanks the stars."

"The stars say that the moon is very welcome."

Smiling, the two looked up into space, where their counterparts beamed down on the planet brighter than ever.


	18. Wind

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. Why would I suddenly own something like that _now_, when it's over, of all times?**

* * *

**Wind**

The first time Luna flew on a broom was when she was five—it was her mother who had taken her up to the skies, and it had been the single most thrilling experience of her entire life thus far.

The second time she flew was the following day. She had snuck into her mother's broom cupboard and taken the cleaning device out for a spin. The wind had been very blustery that day, and as it was only her second time in the air, the force of the breeze proved to be too strong for her. She'd crashed into the side of her father's gardening shed and broken her arm. She wasn't allowed to fly a broom again.

But, like her arm, that rule was broken on her third time, just after her mother's funeral. Xenophelius had gone into a stupor of depression that night. Getting out of the house was the only way she believed she'd ever survive till morning.

On that night, the wind had been light, like Mother Nature knew she was far more fragile now than she had been when she was a five-year-old. Luna glided through the skies a little clumsily, as it was still her third time in the air, but she was at ease for the moment, and so was the night.

The fourth time occurred at Hogwarts, in her first year, during Flying lessons. She'd gotten off course and run into a tree.

The fifth time was, once again, during lessons. She'd flown into one of the goals from Quidditch, and not in the way that you were supposed to fly into them.

Sixth: a wall.

Seventh: the stands.

Eighth: Draco Malfoy.

Madame Hooch didn't even let her have another try. Luna was dubbed un-teachable in the world of flying, and took to sitting in the stands or running errands for the professor when she was busy instructing the other, teachable students.

The ninth time was in her third year. She'd completely forgotten that she even owned a broom to fly, but one day, as she was packing her belongings before school ended, she found her broom underneath her bed. The sudden urge to fly came upon her like an electric shock, and the next thing she knew, she was bounding for the Quidditch pitch.

It was a wobbly lift-off, but she managed to get her feet hovering over the ground. She started out moving cautiously around the field, and as she did so, her confidence increased. Pleased that she could actually fly, she rode around the field in circles, faster and faster, until she was going so fast that the wind was blinding her.

Like instances five through eight, Luna ran into something, throwing her off her broom. And quite like the eighth instance in particular, what she'd run into was Draco Malfoy.

"Oh, hello, Draco," she said, brushing herself off, dazed. "Nice to see you!"

"'Nice to see me'?" he snapped at her. "You could have killed me, and all you have to say is, 'Nice to see me'?"

"… It's also lovely weather we're having, don't you think?"

Draco blinked at her before jumping to his feet, scowling and cursing her name. "Could you be a bigger nutcase? Honestly, you can't even fly a broom properly!"

"I'd be a lot better at it if I had someone to teach me." The comment came out as casually as she could manage. Luna was not one to manipulate, but that did not mean she didn't know how.

Draco _was_ one of the better Quidditch players in the school, after all.

He watched her, catching on to what she was doing, and sneered at her. "Why in Merlin's name would I want to help you with anything?"

"Well, if I was better at flying, there'd be less of a chance of continuously flying into you."

Draco raised a brow at her, and she returned the gesture with a signature smile of complete tranquility.

A half an hour later, Luna was in the air, spinning circles, with the wind dancing all around her, and Draco was yelling at her to come down because she was going too high, and he did not want to have to be forced to fly up there to get her.

Which, in the end, he did anyway.


	19. Fire

**I would ****just**** like to thank you all once again for following this story/leaving me with lovely reviews****; I don't check my email every day, but when I do and I see the wonderful messages, I'm always left with a ridiculous amount of lurve for y'all. It truly means a lot. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Harry Potter_. I've honestly run out of witty things to add.**

* * *

**Fire**

The flames were giants, taking no mercy, squashing all in their path. They cried out, reaching towards the sky. Oranges and golds and reds formed a crown at the roof, flickering, rolling, screaming. It was a spectacle. It was beauty. It was magnificent.

But what else was to be expected from the home of the Malfoys?

Luna's awed gaze moved to Draco beside her. He hadn't spoken a word since they had arrived, nor since he'd received the urgent letter from Harry, informing him that Malfoy Manor had been set ablaze. Luna had watched him read the letter once, then twice, and again and again until it had finally sunk in. He had started to tell her that they had to leave, but she had shushed him, climbed out of bed, and retrieved his coat and shoes. They left in silence, and appeared on the Malfoy's front lawn, in the midst of Harry trying to console Narcissa's cries.

On her other side, far off from herself and Draco, stood Harry, speaking with the other sleep-deprived Aurors. Her friend was quite obviously exhausted, but he never let on that he was about to topple over at any moment. She glanced at Draco once more, touching his arm—he blinked in acknowledgement—and she walked over to Harry as the Aurors surrounding him left for business elsewhere on the Malfoys' property.

"Luna," he greeted with a small, tired smile. It occurred to her that maybe he wasn't sleepy. It had been years since the war's end, but the ghost of age may forever be left to haunt The Boy Who Lived.

"Harry," she replied gently. "What happened?"

"It wasn't an accident, that's for sure. My best guess is that a couple drunkards, remembering the war, thought it would be fun to torch the place that caused so much agony. No leads yet, but we'll catch them."

She nodded, noticing Draco's parents over his shoulder. Narcissa was still sobbing, but her wails had been silenced by now. Lucius, like his son, had no words. Differences aside, there were still some instances where the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"Why are you here, Luna?"

She hadn't known that he had been staring at her curiously until the words left his mouth. She blinked back her surprise. "Draco needs a friend. I'm going to be here for him."

He never looked away from her, but she knew that the airy firmness in her tone had told him that she would take no more questions. The corners of his mouth pulled upward as a short chuckle escaped his lips. "Whatever you say, Luna."

Lucius was making his way over to them, so Luna bid her farewell. Draco was sitting now, his legs pulled up to his chest, but she could see as she approached him that nothing in his gaze was different from when she'd left. The glow of the house was dwindling as the Aurors continued to extinguish the fires, but the heat that carried in the wind remained. She peeled off her coat and laid it down on the grass, then sat down as close to him as possible.

"Water Trympunks are trying to put the fire out. They're actually doing a better job than the Aurors." Luna sighed, leaning into Draco's ear slightly. "Don't tell the Aurors that, though. They might take it the wrong way."

Draco blinked again. His eyes fell from the house and onto the lawn.

"Water… Trympunks?" he repeated slowly.

She smiled softly. "Yes, Water Trympunks. They have large trunks that store water."

He nodded, taking the information in. "Tell them to stop. They don't need to put the fire out. That house should burn." He paused, taking in a long breath of ash-filled air. "I want it to burn."

Luna stared on at Draco's profile, making it her mission to memorize every dip and curve in his face that she may not have noticed before. When she finished, she settled herself down to the ash-ridden ground, snuggling into the crook of her coat arm. The Aurors continued to put out the fires while she caught up with sleep.

Draco, eventually exhausted from watching his childhood home die in flames, curled up beside her, and soon followed her into a dreamless state.


	20. Water

**Disclaimer: I own a cell phone, not _Harry Potter_.**

* * *

**Water**

Luna had been minding her own business, counting the amount of Nargles buzzing around the students in the Great Hall, when a wave of something cold and wet rushed—or poured, to be more specific—over her head.

The cackles of Pansy Parkinson and her Slytherin cohorts were so shrill that the eardrum of every student could have burst. Luna watched the water pitcher float back down to the table, and then she blinked at the food on her breakfast plate that was now ridiculously soggy and completely inedible. Heaving a sigh, she stood, grabbed her drenched belongings beside her, and fled the Great Hall in favor of a nice place with something dry to wear.

She turned the corner. The next thing she knew, she was colliding with something solid, and tall, and—as she would find when she looked up—prominently irritated.

"Lovegood, watch where you're going!"

She didn't step out of Draco's comfort zone, but rather, remained far too close to him than he would have liked, especially since she was dripping on him. Her nose just barely poked him in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't see you there."

He shoved her back. "Merlin, Lovegood, ever hear of 'personal space'? Why the hell are you soaking? Take a dip in the lake a gain, did you?"

"Of course not! Professor McGonagall made it very clear that I wasn't to try and search for the Giant Squid again. No, this was Pansy Parkinson's doing."

Draco scowled, muttering the word, "Juvenile."

This almost would have surprised Luna; Draco had once been known for playing such 'juvenile' pranks as well. This year, however, things had changed. He seemed different. Troubled. Distant. The scorn in his sneers weren't the same as they once were. Perhaps he was acting even stranger than she did.

"Juvenile," she repeated. "I agree. Some people just can't mind their own business, can they? But oh well. I was a tad groggy this morning, so she certainly woke me right up. Now, if you'll excuse me, Draco, I need to go change before classes start."

"You do realize you are _magic_, don't you? That you have the ability to cast a _spell_ to dry yourself off?"

She laughed. "Yes, Draco, I know I'm a witch. Unfortunately, someone stole my wand last night at dinner. I suspect Pansy was behind that, too." She shrugged, acting as though the whole debacle was completely irrelevant. Draco didn't need any other concerns other than the ones he was hiding so terribly. "Goodbye, Draco. Sorry for dripping on you."

Five minutes till class started. Luna moved past Draco and dashed down the corridor, hurrying to the Ravenclaw common room with little time to spare, droplets of water flying behind her.

The day hadn't gone as well as she would have liked. Lacking a wand in a magical school, it would seem, had its consequences. Both McGonagall and Snape had reprimanded her for being so ill-prepared. Snape was the only one to give her a detention. As lunch began, she hurried into the Potions Master's classroom, greeting her teacher with a pleasant 'Hello,' to which he grunted in return. She sat down and begun staring off into the distance, which she spent most of her days doing.

Twenty minutes later, a tap on the window pulled her out of her thoughts. An owl pecked at the glass, carrying something in its mouth, something that looked quite similar to—

"My wand!" she shrieked with surprise. "Professor, my wand is out there! May I—?"

"Pipe down, Lovegood!" he snapped. Grumbling, he walked around his desk and over to the window, unlatching it. The owl flew inside and landed on Luna's desk. She took the wand from its beak, thanking it gratefully, and then took a note she noticed tied to the owl's leg. The bird flew out into the open air as she unfolded the note and read:

_Lovegood,_

_Keep a better eye on this. I won't rescue you from such juvenile pranks again._

Her lips formed a smile. Snape noticed, and being someone infinitely against all aspects of joy, snatched the note from her hands. "Detention implies no contact with friends, Lovegood."

At this, Luna tucked her wand behind her ear, and her smile only grew bigger, because this was the first time anyone ever referred to her having friends, and she felt that having such a friend as Draco Malfoy, whether he knew it or not, would prove to be most interesting, indeed.


	21. First

**... And so begins the next set of four, which will also be the last set of four, sadly. The best way to describe this set (because it doesn't exactly _have_ a specific theme) is to say that it portray a few of the most important moments in Draco and Luna's lives. This one is entitled "First" because it's about their first date. I'm still working out the title for the next one.**

**Disclaimer: No owning of any sort.**

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**First**

Red was the color of the dress she wore on their first date.

"You're killing me, Lovegood," he said when he arrived to pick her up. The dress, paired with the golden scarf wrapped around her neck, teased him in every possible way, both because of how attractive she looked, and because she was clearly trying to make a joke that only she found funny.

"Don't like it?" she asked innocently. Despite however she eccentric she acted, Luna Lovegood had learned quickly over time that annoying Draco in the simplest of ways was the most fun anyone could ever have, apparently. He was starting to wonder why he had asked her out in the first place.

Then he saw her smile, and he remembered why.

"I'll say it again," he said, opening the front door for her. "You're _killing_ me."

"Oh, is it the dress? Don't worry, I can fix it." She ran upstairs, and just as soon as her footsteps had faded above him, they returned, and she had reappeared with something that made her whole ensemble even more spiteful.

"Here we go!" She slid her arms into a bright green coat, grinning with delight. Draco couldn't stop his jaw from falling open, but it was much harder to keep from banging his head against the wall.

"I hate you," he told the woman who resembled the mother of all things Christmas as they walked into the frosty air outside.

"No you don't," she replied. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked me on a date."


	22. Newborn

**Disclaimer: I is not owning a thing.**

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**Newborn**

The color of their newborn son's hat was yellow.

It had been a gift from Ginny's mother: a bright yellow hat with tiny green polka dots and a blue tassel that dangled off the top. Luna thought it looked adorable on Scorpius. Draco thought it made Scorpius look like an elf.

"It's just so… bright!" he explained, at a loss of anything else to add.

"Since when is 'bright' a bad thing, Draco Malfoy?" Luna inquired casually, plucking the hat off of Scorpius' little head, then gently brushing his white blonde hair back into place. "Half of my wardrobe is what you'd consider 'bright.' It's also a term used to describe someone as intelligent. Do you not want our son to be intelligent, Draco Malfoy?"

Draco cast her a sideways glance. Contrary to what acquaintances believed, her referring to him by both his first and last name was more of an off-handed gesture to keep them both amused rather than what most thought to be a sign of her impending fury. Even now, there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her words, she was merely teasing.

"Of course I want him to be intelligent," he replied, rolling his eyes, trailing them back down to look upon his newborn son, who bore a remarkable resemblence to him. He only hoped that, as personalities go, he'd act more like his mother. "However, I'd also prefer him not to be the kid that gets beat up at the playground."

Luna chewed on the side of her cheek, looking at the unique hat in her hand. She turned to Scorpius, still sleeping soundly in his crib, and then turned to Draco, watching her watch him watch her. Then she turned back to the hat, held it up by the little blue tassel, and plopped the small garment atop Draco's head.

"There!" She grinned, utterly satisfied. "Now you're intelligent too, Draco Malfoy."

With her giggles growing louder and louder (and despite the casual conversation, they both would have literally imploded from lack of sleep if Scorpius were to wake up _again_), Draco led her out of the nursery, commenting all the way on just how _clever_ she was, and how all of her jokes were _hilarious_, and how_ lucky_ he was to have a comedian for a wife.

But he was grinning too, and the two of them continued to grin at each other till they passed out (about fifteen seconds after collapsing on the bed yet again)—and later (about three minutes later), sleep-deprived jokes would be made, and grins, worn, all over again when Scorpius decided to wake up once more.


	23. Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own a thing.**

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**Beginning**

Their wedding was held on the beach. A church wedding seemed too formal, too normal for Luna's taste, and the more time they spent having picnics on the beach, the more Luna's fondness for the place grew. It had become her favorite place in the whole world. Naturally, Draco would suggest the idea that it should be where they get married.

He'd had his concerns, though. The beach was a particularly wet, windy place. The last thing Draco wanted on his wedding day was to have his hair blown into a complete disarray while waves soaked him to his knees and sand got stuck in uncomfortable places.

Even as he stood at the alter, waiting for the wedding to begin, his mind still traveled to the weather. So, the wind wasn't as bad as he had anticipated. That didn't mean it couldn't change any time.

And since he was already thinking about the conditions around him, why was it looking so overcast? Weasley had promised him that it wasn't going to rain. Draco scowled. If it started to pour in the middle of the ceremony, he was going to hunt Weasley down.

Ten minutes passed. A dark cloud appeared overhead. _Dammit, Weasley!_ he snarled in his head. _Luna, where the hell are you?_

At that moment, the processional started. Blaise took his place beside Draco, patting him on the shoulder. A five-year-old Weasley cousin twirled down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids, Ginny and Granger. They both wore yellow dresses. Luna had insisted on the color, but she must have let them choose the design, for they looked far too normal compared to Luna's wardrobe.

And then, the guests rose, and the aisle was clear, and there was Luna—and the weather was hardly a concern anymore. Draco was not usually the man to express his emotions too much in public, but a smile graced his face, like no other smile he'd ever conjured. He was happy. Simply watching Luna grin back at him made him happier than anything he'd ever experienced.

When Luna ditched her bouquet and skipped down the aisle, falling into his arms, he realized he didn't care if it rained on them or not. In fact, he would have welcomed it.

And so, it rained.


	24. End

**Disclaimer: And finally, I do not own _Harry Potter_.**

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**End**

Draco Malfoy, second year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, slammed the door of the train compartment, separating himself from Hermione Granger and Weasley's little sister. How dare Granger have the gall to insult him! Who did she think she was, anyway? She was nothing more than a know-it-all mudblood. He was far superior to her. _Oh_, he seethed, storming down the aisle of the Hogwarts Express_, one day, she'll get what she deserves. Then I'll be the one laughing!_

Caught up in his mental tyraid, he didn't even notice a small blonde emerging from her own compartment, skipping down the hall toward him—till, of course, the moment she slammed right into him, apparently lost in her own world as well.

"What the—?" Draco scanned the girl disdainfully, taking in her outrageous appearance. She hadn't yet changed into her uniform, and instead wore a bright blue jumper with the most horrendous rainbow stripes he'd ever laid eyes on, as well as some fuzzy… _thing_ sticking out of each shoulder. Half of her blonde hair was in a bun, while the other half was messily around her ear, behind which stuck out a wand. Her shoes were probably the least of the oddity, because she wasn't wearing any.

"Oh, hello!" she said brightly, flashing him the widest of smiles. Her voice was strange—a dreamy, slightly overexcited, sort of sound. Draco blinked at her, sort of at a loss for words, at least for the moment. He'd never seen anything like her.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"Draco Malfoy," he answered quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Draco Malfoy! I'm Luna Lovegood." She stuck out her hand. When he didn't shake her hand like she was expecting, she slowly retraced her hand behind her back. "I'm a first year."

"That's fascinating."

"Is it? I hadn't really thought about it." She put a finger to her chin, looking thoughtful. "I suppose it is a little fascinating. There's so much I'm about to discover, so much to learn. It's a bit overwhelming, really. Don't you agree?"

"… Sure," was his response, for he really didn't know what to make of the girl before him.

She smiled softly. "You don't really get it. But that's alright. Maybe one day, you will. Maybe discovering something new will wipe that sour look off of your face."

"I do not have a sour look!" Draco shouted, which caused his sour look to increase tenfold, and only caused Luna to giggle.

"You're very funny. I like you. I hope we'll be friends."

"I sincerely doubt it," Draco remarked, watching one of the fuzzy shoulder things sway back and forth.

She shrugged. "I suppose we'll just have to see, then. It was very nice meeting you, Draco Malfoy." She gave a little wave, and skipped onward down the aisle. He could hear her greeting the others she passed by, though she didn't converse with them for as long as she did with him.

_They're the lucky ones_, he thought. For a moment, he had to look back at her. He had to figure her out. _What a nut. An oddball. A—_

"Loony." And he walked away, shaking his head, feeling a little less furious than he had been before, and quite a bit more befuddled from the conversation he'd just had with one Luna Lovegood. He hoped, for his sanity's sake, he'd never have to have another one with her again.


End file.
